Volunteers training to monitor Henderson County's water

Published: Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 5:02 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 5:02 p.m.

When Lucy Butler first moved to Hendersonville in 2006, she tried to find an organization that fed her desire to help the environment and to meet new people.

Six years later, Butler sat at a table as people signed in at the Environmental and Conservation Organization's biomonitoring training on Saturday. Butler has been a team leader that monitors the conditions of water in Henderson County for the past six years.

The class on Saturday introduced new members to the water-monitoring concept and helped refresh some members who are already helping with the work.

The program uses more than 40 volunteers to monitor 26 watershed sites around Henderson County. Saturday's volunteer training course was vital to that mission. The more volunteers trained, the more locations that ECO can monitor.

"It's really all about education," said Seirisse Baker, ECO's water quality administrator.

Those in attendance got an education on maps and plenty of pictures of bugs. They studied the different types of organisms in local water through microscopes. These "bugs" serve as indicators to the health of a stream, Baker said.

In their monitoring, volunteers use the Stream Monitoring Information Exchange method, which closely resembles the protocols of the North Carolina Division of Water Quality.

With cutbacks in the state budget, that division doesn't get to check the streams as often, Baker said, and that makes ECO's work extremely important.

"Everybody lives upstream to somebody else," she said, adding that it just comes down to simple "environmental stewardship."

All of the information collected is used to determine stream health and whether those waterways are in need of assistance.

The science and the health of the environment are important reasons to take part in this process, Butler said, but she thinks there's an additional benefit.

"Here you are on a spring morning in Henderson County in a crystal creek," she said. "You're doing good work, but you're also in this beautiful environment."

For more information on the program or to volunteer, call 828-692-0385 or visit eco-wnc.org.

<p>When Lucy Butler first moved to Hendersonville in 2006, she tried to find an organization that fed her desire to help the environment and to meet new people.</p><p>Six years later, Butler sat at a table as people signed in at the Environmental and Conservation Organization's biomonitoring training on Saturday. Butler has been a team leader that monitors the conditions of water in Henderson County for the past six years.</p><p>The class on Saturday introduced new members to the water-monitoring concept and helped refresh some members who are already helping with the work. </p><p>The program uses more than 40 volunteers to monitor 26 watershed sites around Henderson County. Saturday's volunteer training course was vital to that mission. The more volunteers trained, the more locations that ECO can monitor.</p><p>"It's really all about education," said Seirisse Baker, ECO's water quality administrator.</p><p>Those in attendance got an education on maps and plenty of pictures of bugs. They studied the different types of organisms in local water through microscopes. These "bugs" serve as indicators to the health of a stream, Baker said. </p><p>In their monitoring, volunteers use the Stream Monitoring Information Exchange method, which closely resembles the protocols of the North Carolina Division of Water Quality. </p><p>With cutbacks in the state budget, that division doesn't get to check the streams as often, Baker said, and that makes ECO's work extremely important.</p><p>"Everybody lives upstream to somebody else," she said, adding that it just comes down to simple "environmental stewardship."</p><p>All of the information collected is used to determine stream health and whether those waterways are in need of assistance. </p><p>The science and the health of the environment are important reasons to take part in this process, Butler said, but she thinks there's an additional benefit.</p><p>"Here you are on a spring morning in Henderson County in a crystal creek," she said. "You're doing good work, but you're also in this beautiful environment."</p><p>For more information on the program or to volunteer, call 828-692-0385 or visit eco-wnc.org.</p><p>Reach Millwood at 828-694-7881 or at joey.millwood@blueridgenow.com.</p>